Fence post and means of attaching wire strands thereto



Dec. 27, 1955 H PALS, JR l 2,728,560

FENCE POST AND MEANS OF ATTACHING WIRE STRANDS THERETO Filed July 50,1953 Hem @A15 Jr. Wm l, @5m/(MMM United States Patent f FENCE POSTAANI):l\/IEA1\I`9 0F ATTACK-HNS `WIRE STRANDS THERET Thisinventionrelates to metal fence posts and more Yparticularly to a postthat has means for quickly attaching a. plurality Vof strands thereto.

Metal fence posts are rapidly .taking the place of the -older woodenones. Most metal posts are T-shaped in cross section, are strong, andare easily installed in the ground. There are two general methodsolsecuring the wire strands to such posts, i. e., by boss-engagingstaple members, and by twisting a short length of wire around the postand horizontal wire strand. Obviously these methods require much timeand labor and are not entirely successful nor eiicient in holding thefelice wire. Some attempts have been made to provide ears on' the postto receive the fence wire, and then pass a nail, bolt, rod, or likethrough a pair of ears.

This structure is a decided advance, but has the shortcoming, that it`one rod or like pierces all the ears, independent treatment of eachindividual wire strand is impossible. On the other hand, if a number ofrods or like are used, the raising of any of the lower ones, isinterfered with, by the one above it.

Therefore, the principal object oi my invention is to provide a fencepost having a plurality ot' pairs or' pierced ears with the shape andpierced vertical planes of each pair of ears offset from the adjacentpair, so that the placement or removal of the holding nail will not beinterfered with regardless of how close the fence strands are to eachother.

A further object of this invention is to provide a post that permits thequick attachment of a fence to it, and as easily permits the fenceremoval therefrom.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a metal fence postthat is economical in manufacture, durable in use, and relined inappearance.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combinationof the various parts or' the device, whereby the objects contemplatedare attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, and specically pointedout in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my post ready for use,

Fig. 2 is a side face view of the post showing how a ence may be securedthereto,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the post, taken online 3-3of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view of my post, taken on line 4-4of Fig. 2.

While I show the ears on my post as pairs, with each pair stamped fromone sheet of material, it is obvious that each of the two ears that makeup a pair, may be independently formed and otherwise secured to the postface. In fact I have made relatively heavy ears, which may be welded tothe post in pairs, or, if desired, may be cast integrally with the post.

In the drawings I have used the numeral 10 to designate an ordinarymetal fence post T-shaped in cross section 2,728,550 'fatented Dec. 2.7,1.955

and having the flat face 11. It is to such a post and to its face sidethat I yapply my alternated offset ear members.

Each pair of ears has two parallel horizontal ear anges 12 and 13,respectively. When a pair ofears is stamped or formed from a singlesheet of metal, there is `the connecting portion i4 between eachof thetwo ear langes, as shown in the drawings. When the ears are thus formed,they .are rst stamped out and then .the top and bottom portions bentoutwardly to form the spaced apart protruding ear ilanges 12 and 13. Anynumber of pairs of these ear units may be placed on the face of thepost. They may be secured thereto by anysuitable means. The central orweb portion I4 ofeach pair is at and ideal for securing to the post byspotting, welding, soldering, riveting or like. My invention, however,is particularly involved in the structure` of the three upper pairs ofears vshown in the drawings. In practice many pairs of ears may beemployed. However, these three upper pairs of ears are -illustrative andteach the ,idea of alternating the pairs of ears, i. e., each succeedingpair is turned over, or reversed from that of the one next to it. Theresult shown is accomplished by having one side width of each pair ofears enlarged to extend further away from the tence post tace, and thentapering sharply to reduce this width as each ear progresses to itsother side. In Fig. 2 it will be noted that the width at the other sidesubstantially disappears. By this structure each pair of ears will havean enlarged portion 15 projecting from the post and that portion will beat one side of the vertical center plane. lt is through this enlargedportion l5 that I have a vertical hole through each of the two earportions that make up a pair. The numeral i6 designates a nail headedrod, pin, bolt, or the like, detachably and slidably extending throughthe holes in each pair of ears. Due to the ear holes being to one sideof the transverse center, the nail or like that extends therethrough,will be located to one side of the center of the face of the post asshown in the pairs or' ears at the upper end portieri of the post.Merely by alternating the pairs of ears, that is, turning every otherone over, as shown in the drawings, the nails or like I6 will bealternated and staggered. This means that directly above each nail orlike, there will be no ear ange l5 to prevent its withdrawal orreplacement, as shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 4 shows an ear, having the nail orlike hole in the center thereof. rThis structure is possible if thepairs of ears are tar apart, and a short nail or like is used for eachpair of ears. In any event, for success, the holes in alternate pairs ofears should be staggered. all three pairs of ears on the upper end ofthe post are exact duplicates, the alternate arrangement is accomplishedmerely by turning alternate pairs of ears over and around to reverse theposition of their enlarged portions 15.

In some wire fencing it will be desirable to closely arrange these pairsof ears substantially the length of the post. To attach a fence, all theretainer nails or like are lifted from the ear pairs. The fence isplaced between each of the ear franges that make up a pair after whichthe nails or like are replaced and the fence is then successfullysecured to the post. To remove the fence it is merely necessary toremove the nail or like retainers. If only one strand of wire is to bedealt with, only the one nail retaining it is is employed. This makesfor individual strand wire treatment. In View of the above it will beappreciated that my invention resides in two features, i. e., the shapeof the ear location of their holes as shown in Fig. 3, and secondly, thestamping of each pair of ears into a one piece unit.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my fencepost and method of attaching wire strands thereto without departing fromthe real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention toinasmuch as cover by my claims, any modified forms of structure or useof mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included Within theirscope.

I claim:

1. ln a fence post, a post portion having a dat face, a plurality ofspaced apart pairs of horizontal ear iianges on the face of said postportion; each of said pairs of ear iianges having an enlarged protrusionarea at one side thereof, and a vertical pin slidably detachablyextending through the enlarged protrusion area of each pair of ear angesrespectively; said pairs of ear flanges, being alternately reversedrelative to each other to alternately bring said pins rst to one side ofthe vertical center of the face of said post, and then to the other sideof the vertical center of the face of said post.

2. In a fence post, a post portion having a fiat face, a plurality ofspaced apart pairs of horizontal ear anges on the face of said postportion; each of said pairs of ear anges having an enlarged protrusionarea at one side thereo', and a headed vertical pin slidably detachablyeX- t'ending through the enlarged protrusion area of each pair of earflanges respectively; said pairs of ear flanges, being alternatelyreversed relative to each other to alternately bring said pins first toone side of the vertical center of the face of said post, and then tothe other side of the vertical center of the face of said post.

3. In a fence post, a post portion having a fiat face, a plurality ofspaced apart pairs of horizontal ear anges on the face of said postportion; each of said pairs of ear flanges being of an integral onepiece unit having an enlarged protrusion area at one side thereof, and avertical pin slidably detachably extending through the enlargedprotrusion area of each pair of ear lianges respectively; said pairs ofear flanges, being alternately reversed relative to each other toalternately bring said pins first to one side of the vertical center ofthe face of said post, and then to the other side of the vertical centerof the face of said post.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS403,991 Crabb May 28, 1889 509,102 Rogers Nov, 21, 1893 963,938 PhillipsJuly 12, 1910 1,791,295 Wolf Feb. 3, 1931

